The Difference That Matters

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Leading by example

Women’s soccer team inspires younger students.

In soccer,
teamwork is everything. Whether scoring a goal or pulling a teammate up off the
grass, supporting one another is necessary for success. For the Northern
Arizona University women’s soccer team, this philosophy of helping others
extends beyond the field at Lumberjack Stadium and into the surrounding
community.

Recently,
members of the team visited Williams, Arizona to talk with high school and
middle school students about how abstaining from harmful drugs, underage drinking,
and other unhealthy behaviors has contributed to their success at the
university level.

In addition
to their coursework, all Northern Arizona University student-athletes are
required to complete 10 hours of community service per semester. Pam Lowie, the
assistant athletic director for academics, says the members of the soccer team
regularly log double that requirement, making them a natural choice to speak at
Williams.

“When
I called them, Alana D'Onofrio – one of their captains – said the team would love to go,”
Lowie explains. “For many of our student-athletes, especially the soccer players, they
complete community service and outreach because they have the intrinsic desire
to do so, not because the Athletics Department encourages them to do so. When
the opportunity with the Williams School district presented itself, asking the soccer
team was a clear choice because of the team members’ previous commitments and
experience volunteering their time.”

Williams,
a small town most pass through on their way to the South Rim of the Grand
Canyon, suffers from unemployment problems. Thirteen percent of the population lives below
the poverty level, which can cause many students here to feel like their future
prospects are dim.

“The
Williams school district approached NAU Athletics because they are having
problems in their schools with bullying, poverty, alcohol, and substance
abuse,” Lowie says. “For our student-athletes to visit and be positive role
models for these high school and middle school students is very important.”

Improvised inspiration

When the
team arrived at Williams High School, they found that, despite their
presentation preparations, playing in front of a crowd is easier than speaking
in front of one.

“The
students started coming in, and we asked, ‘How many more are there going to be?’”
Malio Tano, a sophomore forward majoring in hotel and restaurant management,
says. “We were pretty shaky at first, but then we started getting comfortable
and it became easier when we saw the students were listening to us.”

Tano and one
of her teammates, midfielder and junior biology major Emily Roth, presented
together on the negative impact of marijuana and tobacco use. Roth was unsure
what kind of reception they would receive, but found the younger students were
responsive and genuinely interested in the lives of university
student-athletes.

“We had a
lot of kids come up and talk to us afterwards about how we got to where we
are,” Roth says.

Giving back, taking in

Tano and Roth are grateful for the opportunity to give back to their community, and don’t take their status as athletes and university students for granted.

“I feel like Flagstaff, as a community, gives so much to Athletics, and is so supportive of this university,” Tano says. “It’s really important and special to be able to give back and help not only Flagstaff, but other surrounding communities.”

Lowie is proud of the work being done by the soccer team, and explains that contributing to the community continues to be an important, defining quality of Northern Arizona University sports.

“The football team went and volunteered more than 100 hours with the Special Olympics of Northern Arizona and had a wonderful experience,” Lowie says. “Many of our teams go to work at St. Mary’s food bank. Kasandra Vegas from the track and field team had 90-plus hours of volunteer work this season. Jake Abbott of the football team went to Mexico and helped build houses for low-income families. These are only two stories about Northern Arizona University student-athletes engaging in the community, and we’re very proud of all of our student-athletes as they promote a culture of giving back at the university.”